The High School Diaries
by Cherry Padalecki
Summary: Being a girl in high school is hard enough, but Meg, Jasmine, Ariel, Esmeralda, Vanessa and Merida have more on their plate than they can handle. From a cheating boyfriend, to an eating disorder, to teen pregnancy, to harassment, to abuse, to a death in the family, they struggle to get through their senior year. Featuring many Disney and non-Disney secondary characters.
1. Chapter 1

_**Here's a quick introduction of the main characters. This story includes mostly Disney characters, but also a lot of non-Disney characters. Many secondary characters will be introduced as the story goes on. Note: Anastasia is from the 20th Century Fox movie, not Cinderella's step sister. Thanks for reading.**_

Merida got up early for school, put on her hand-me-down jeans and t-shirt, then went down to the kitchen. There was a single coffee mug in the sink which meant her father had already left for work. She opened the fridge, hoping to find sandwiches for herself and her younger sister, Jenny, but as usual they weren't there. She pulled out everything she would need to make sandwiches and quickly made two before going back upstairs to wake up Jenny.

Jenny was a typical eight-year-old girl; she had a large collection of stuffed animals and posters of various celebrities from magazines taped to her walls. When Merida came to wake her up, Jenny was curled up in a ball with her pink comforter pulled up over her head. Merida turned on her light and was met with an annoyed groan.

"You have to get up now or you won't have time to eat breakfast," Merida told her before walking out of the room.

As Merida walked back down the hall she had to walk past her older sister Anastasia's, bedroom. The door was closed- it was always closed. Over the summer Anastasia lost her battle with leukima and died at the age of nineteen. Their mother had a breakdown and completely shut herself off from the family. She forbade everyone from going into Anastasia's room or touching anything that belonged to her. Anastasia was livng in a dorm at a university in the city and just before she left she had given Merida all of her old clothes. Now whenever her mom sees her in those clothes she treats Merida as if she's betraying Anastasia's memory. Though, Merida doesn't see much of her mom. Most days she locks herself in her room and doesn't come out. When she _does_ come out, she's always in a bad mood. Merida's father couldn't handle being around her anymore and started working a lot more. Now it's been up to Merida to look after Jenny

* * *

Jasmine slipped on a pair of tight white shorts, a white cami and white high-heeled sandals. She applied a little bit of make up, then brushed out her long black hair and went downstairs. Her mother was running on the treadmill they kept in the living room and watching the news.

"Good morning, mom!" Jasmine greeted.

Her mom didn't turn around to look her. "Good morning, dear. I left you a grapefruit for breakfast. It's on the counter."

Jasmine set her book bag on the floor by the front door, then went into the kitchen. As promised, a sliced open grapefuit sat on the counter with a glass of water next to it. Jasmine ate it quickly so she wouldn't be late for school, then went back out to the living room. Her mother was just finishing her workout and frowned when she saw Jasmine.

"Good Lord, Jasmine, what have you done to yourself?"

Jasmine looked down at herself, then looked back up at her mom. "What do you mean?"

"It's obvious you've gained weight since this summer. Your thighs are practically busting out your shorts. Go put on some jeans. Black ones; they'll make your thighs look thinner."

Jasmine just stared at her mom. Jasmine had been doing the work out routine her mother had given her and only eating the foods she tells her to, how could she have gained weight?

"Change now, Jasmine. You don't want Naveen to see you like that," her mother said.

Jasmine sighed, but went up to her room to change. She put on black jeans like her mother told her, checked her reflection, then went back downstairs.

"That looks better," her mother said. "Not good, but better. I want you to run on the treadmill for an extra thirty minutes after school today. It's important that you always look good, Jasmine.

* * *

Ariel stood in front of her full-length mirror with her hands over her stomach. She was two months pregnant and she was showing now. The bump wasn't too big yet, but still noticable. She hadn't begun to show when school started a month ago, but now she was self concious about it. Her boyfriend at the time, Sinbad, wanted her to get an abortion, but she couldn't go through with it so he broke up with her. Part of her was starting to regret that decision. She couldn't be going through her senior year pregnant, that was not how she planned it. And she certainly never thought she could get pregnant the first time she slept with someone. But, this was her life now and she had to live with her decisions.

There was a loud, impatient knock on her bedroom door. "Ariel, aren't you ready, yet?" her twenty-three-year-old sister, Alana, asked. "Dad wants me to drop you off at school on my way to work."

"Just about," Ariel replied.

"Hurry up, I can't be late."

Ariel ran her hands over her new sundress. Her father had bought it for her just before school started, before he knew she was pregnant, and she knew she probably wouldn't be able to fit in it much longer. Her father, of course, had been furious when she told him, but he eventually calmed down and started helping her. Ariel had six older sisters and her dad was a single father, so he knew exactly what to expect. Her oldest sister, Attina, is twenty-four and is beyond excited about Ariel being pregnant. Her dream has always been to get married and have four kids. She's been helping Ariel the most. Still, Ariel wasn't happy. She would be turning eighteen in a couple weeks and she never thought she'd be two months pregnant on her eighteenth birthday.

* * *

"Vanessa, you've been in there for almost forty-five minutes. I need to get ready, too," Adam demaned, banging on the bathroom door.

Vanessa rolled her eyes at her adoptive brother, even though he couldn't see her. Adam had a short temper and no patience. "I'm just putting make up on, you can come in."

"I have to shower still."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Vanessa turned her attention back to the mirror above the sink and her eyes immediately fell on the cut on her lower lip. Vanessa was adopted when she was two-years-old and her adoptive father was physically abusive from the start. Adam is the same age as Vanessa, but he got the worst of the beatings. They were eighteen now and the beatings don't happen as often as they used to, but they were still just as bad. Last night Vanessa accidently spilled her dad's beer and he backhanded her across the face, cutting her lip with his wedding ring. Their mother knew what was happening, but she was too afraid of him to stand up to him.

Vanessa applied some dark red lipstick, hoping the cut would blend in with the color and no one woud notice. She then opened the bathroom door. Adam was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"It's about time."

"Whatever."

"Vanessa, it's only September; don't you think it's a little warm for a long-sleeved shirt?"

Vanessa put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll wear whatever I want."

Adam quickly reached out and grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull her arm free, but he was much stronger than her. He pushed her sleeve up, revealing the bruises covering her skin.

"Damn it, Vanessa," Adam muttered, letting her go. "You don't get enough of this at home, you need it from your boyfriend, too?"

"It's not like that."

"So, Gaston didn't do this to you?"

"He did, but-"

"Stop making excuses for him." With that Adam went into the bathroom, slammed the door and Vanessa was left standing alone in the hallway.

* * *

Meg eagerly waited for her boyfriend, Cale, to pick her up for school. They started dating just before junior prom, about five months ago, and she was crazy about him. Last month his parents bought him a car for his eighteenth birthday and he's been driving her to school every day since then. Meg loved having the alone time with Cale and was glad she didn't have to take the bus as a senior.

Cale honked as he pulled up in front of the house and Meg jumped off her front porch and hurried towards the car. As soon as she got in the car, she pulled Cale into a kiss.

"Good morning, baby!" she greeted.

"Morning." Cale nodded towards her house. "I don't think your brother likes me very much."

Meg looked back at the house. Derek was was just coming out the front door and was glaring at Cale. She rolled her eyes.

"Derek is my step brother," Meg corrected. "And he doesn't really like anybody; he's kind of anti social."

"Like you?"

Meg laughed as she put on her seatbelt. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Is Marina your step sister, too?" Cale asked as he pulled away.

Meg, like most teenagers, was embarrassed by her family so she never brought Cale home to meet them. She also rarely talked about them. Meg's mom left a few years ago after she caught Meg's dad on a date with another woman. Of course it had just been a business lunch, but her mom got mad and left, not bothering to listen to him defend himself. Two years ago he met Derek and Marina's mom and they got married eight months later. Derek and Marina are actually half brother and sister; same mom, different dads. After Derek was born, his dad left and his mom had revenge sex with her friend. Marina was born nine months later. Derek turned eighteen last week and Marina will be eighteen at the beginning of June, so they're in the same grade. Meg is also in the same grade as them and has gotten tired of explaining why the three of them are in the same grade, but aren't triplets.

"Yes, she is," Meg finally replied. "But, anyways, are you excited about senior year?"

Cale shrugged as he made a turn. "I'm excited to graduate and finally be done with high school."

Meg nodded. "You and me both."

* * *

Esmeralda pulled into her best friend, Kida's, driveway and honked the horn. Kida hurried outside. She had a granola bar in her mouth and was stuffing her homework into her backpack. As soon as she got into Esmeralda's car, she threw her backpack on the floor and put her feet up on the the dashboard.

"Doing your homework last minute again?" Esmeralda asked her as she backed out of the driveway.

Kida nodded and finished chewing before answering. "Yes. My dad insists on checking my homework every day, so I tell him I don't have any and then do it in the morning after he goes to work. He's so overbearing. I wish he was more easy going, like your dad. I mean, look at you; my dad would quite literally kill me if I wore that to school."

Esmeralda glanced down at her outfit. She was wearing short cutoff shorts and a reavealing midriff tank top. The school dress code was a lot more relaxed for seniors and she fully intended on taking advantage of that. As for her dad letting her go out dressed like this, well he didn't know. He barely ever paid attention to her, saying she reminds him too much of her mom. When Esmeralda was a freshman her mom was arrested for prostitution and her dad divorced her immediately afterwards. Esmeralda looked exactly like her mom, but she didn't sleep around like her. Esmeralda lost her virginity when she was sixteen, but regretted it and hasn't slept with anyone since. However, she still likes the attention from the boys at school and likes to be thought of as sexy.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ariel, dear, aren't you going to eat lunch?" Snow White asked.

Ariel shook her head. "I don't feel very well."

"You have to eat something; you and your baby need it."

Ariel sighed. "I can't keep anything down. Just the sight of your guys' food makes me want to throw up."

Rapunzel frowned at her slice of pizza. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," Ariel told her. "It's just the sickness from the pregnancy."

"How long does it last?" Aurora asked.

"It usually ends around week fourteen or sixteen," Belle informed them, not looking up from her textbook.

"What week are you in, Ariel?" Giselle asked.

"Eight."

"You're halfway there," Cinderella said with a smile. Cinderella was always looking on the bright side of things and had a way of keeping everyone around her optimistic.

"Have you thought of any names?" Charlotte asked. "I mean, now that you've decided you're gonna keep it."

"I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to keep it," Ariel admitted.

Thumbelina nearly choked on her soda. "You can't abort it now!"

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

Snow White put her hand on Ariel's arm. "I know this situation isn't ideal. But, you have to think of the future. Could you really live with yourself if you killed your baby?"

Ariel cocked an eyebrow at her friend. "I _am _thinking of my future. I have been kicked off the swim team because of this. My only shot at getting a scholarship for college is gone. Because of this baby."

"It's not the baby's fault," Thumbelina said. "_You_ made the decision to sleep with Sinbad."

Ariel looked down at the table. "I know. But I didn't think one night could ruin my entire life."

"It's not ruined," Cinderella told her. "A baby is a blessing. This happened to you for a reason. I'm sure it's hard now, but it'll get better."

"I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but you're wrong. I can't go to college now. I'm gonna have to get a job right away so I can support myself and the baby. Sinbad definitely isn't going to help me out."

"You have your father and your sisters to help you."

Ariel shook her head. "The point is I want to live my life the way I planned. I'm only seventeen and already my life has to completely revolve around someone else. I don't want that. I want to go to college and compete in swimming while I'm still young enough to do it."

"You're being selfish," Aurora said as she took a bite of her salad.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Ariel demanded. "If Sinbad can be selfish, why can't I?"

"You're the mother and you're carrying the baby; you don't get that option," Snow White said.

"What she wants isn't unreasonable," Belle interjected, looking up. "This is still her life. She has the freedom to do whatever she wants. If she wants to abort the baby, that's her choice. Same thing goes if she decides to put it up for adoption or keep it. What she decides isn't up to anyone else."

Ariel gave her friend a grateful look. "Thank you."

"Would you listen to yourselves?" Snow White said. "We're talking about a _person _here. There is a human inside of you and you're actually considering killing it? No. You need to take responsibility for your actions, Ariel."

* * *

Esmeralda could feel all the eyes on her as she walked across the courtyard. She smiled to herself, but ignored the looks. Her friends were waiting for her at their usual picnic table and they were the only ones not looking at her. Crysta and Pocahontas were deep in conversation. Esmeralda was too far away to hear them, but knowing them they were probably talking about nature or animals. Hercules and Shang were in the middle of yet another arm wrestling match. They were best friends, but very competitive. Hercules was much stronger and faster than Shang, but Shang had more skills when it came to sports. Mulan was busy working on homework. She was your typical overachiever; it was rare to see her not doing schoolwork. Marina and Kida were scanning the courtyard, most likely rating the hotness of the guys they saw while Tiana sat kept to herself and just ate the lunch she brought from home. Tiana aspired to be a cook and own a restaurant, so she was always experimenting on new recipes. Their friend, Flynn, was always happy to be her guinea pig. Flynn ate more than anyone Esmeralda had ever met and yet still managed to keep a fit body due to the countless hours he spent playing basketball with his best friend, Aladdin.

"Hey, guys," Esmeralda greeted as she sat down.

"Esmeralda, settle something for us," Kida said. "Who's hotter: Naveen or Dimitri?"

Esmeralda thought for a moment. "Dimitri. Guys like Naveen are a dime a dozen."

"I told you," Marina stated.

Kida shrugged and turned her attention to her lunch. "I still say it's Naveen."

"Don't you guys ever talk about anything else?" Shang asked.

"Like what?" Marina asked. "Like who's _arm _is stronger and who can run the fastest?"

"The answer to both would be Hercules, by the way," Kida said.

Shang glared at them. He was about to argue back when Hercules pinned his arm down on the table. Kida gave him an I told you so look. "Whatever."

"I win again," Hercules stated.

"Yes. We all saw that," Shang retorted.

Hercules gave him a proud smile, but Shang just rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Shang. Don't be such a sore loser."

Shang didn't say anything, he just focused on his pizza.

"Hey, Esmeralda."

Esmeralda looked up as Brom Bones approached the table. "Hi, Brom."

"You goin' to the game Friday night?"

"Of course I am. Hercules and Shang are on the team," Esmeralda replied, motioning at her friends.

"Is that the only reason you're going?" Brom asked with a wink.

"What are you getting at, Brom?" Esmeralda asked.

"Don't play coy; I know you go to see me. Who doesn't?"

Esmeralda raised an eyebrow at Brom and gave him an amused smile. "Your popularity is undeniable, Brom Bones; but there's nothing impressive about you. Shang is the quarterback; more girls go to see him than you."

Brom let out an embarrassed laugh. "Playing hard to get only makes me want you more."

"Well, she's not interested," Tiana stated. "Move along."

Esmeralda glanced at Tiana, then smiled at Brom. "You heard her."

"This isn't over, Esmeralda."


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey, everyone! I completely forgot all about this story. I'm so sorry. Here's a new chapter for you and hopefully I'll remember to make my updates a little more regular.**_

* * *

Jasmine glared at her apple as she tossed it back and forth between her hands. Because of her sudden "weight gain", her mother demanded that she only eat an apple for lunch to insure she didn't gain anymore weight. She sighed and set the apple on the table as her friends approached the table. Jasmine was the only one who brought her lunch and she eyed her friends' lunches as they sat down. Naturally Eric's and Phoebus' trays were piled with a little everything the lunch ladies had to offer. Naveen, John Rolfe, Phillip and John Smith had all opted for the cheeseburger and fries. Aurora had gotten a Cesar salad. Odette and Jessica Rabbit got pizza. Jasmine envied all of them and her stomach growled quietly as she watched them begin to eat. She took a bite of her apple and tried to pretend it was pepperoni pizza.

"Oh, thank you, boys." Katrina Van Tassel came up to the table with two boys right behind her. One was holding her lunch tray and the other was holding her backpack. She sat down and smiled sweetly at the boys. "Ya'll are so sweet."

The boys blushed, hung around for a moment and then walked away. Katrina was from Texas and had the whole southern-good-girl image. All the boys liked her and would do anything for her.

"I don't know how you do it," Aurora told her. Aurora was a classic beauty; she looked like a movie star from the old black and white movies. But she didn't quite have the same affect on boys that Katrina did.

"I don't know how _she _does it," Katrina grumbled, nodding towards the table where Esmeralda was sitting. Right now Brom Bones was hitting on Esmeralda and Katrina had had a crush on him for the longest time, but he never so much as flirted with her or even winked at her.

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Please. You can do so much better."

Jasmine's cellphone vibrated and she read the text message, using it as a distraction from the daily discussion of Katrina and Brom.

_Only the apple for lunch. I'm disappointed with the way you let yourself go. Remember: beauty only counts if it's on the outside. Love, Mom._

Jasmine seethed as she set her phone back down. It was then that she noticed Charlotte La Bouff walking passed the table.

"Hey, Charlotte!" Jasmine called out.

Charlotte hesitantly stopped and looked at Jasmine, but didn't say anything.

"Nice muffin top," Jasmine told her. "You _do_ know that when you gain weight you need to buy _bigger _clothes, right? You're practically bulging out of your clothes."

The girls at Jasmine's table snickered. A hurt look crossed Charlotte's face and she hurried away. Jasmine lowered her eyes to her apple and frowned. She suddenly lost her appetite.

* * *

Vanessa had to stay after class and was now running late for lunch. She hurried towards the cafeteria just as Gaston was coming out. He saw Vanessa right away and looked pissed.

"Hey, baby," Vanessa greeted.

"Where were you? I was waiting for you."

"I had to stay after class. I'm sorry."

"Yeah right. Who were you really with?" Gaston demanded.

Vanessa crossed her arms over her chest. "_Mr. Ratcliffe._"

Gaston grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the cafeteria. His grip was tight and he didn't ease up until they found a secluded hallway. He threw her arm away from him and she gently rubbed her wrist.

"What is wrong with you?" Vanessa asked him, sharply.

"_You_. I think you're cheating on me."

Vanessa groaned and rolled her eyes. "How many times do we have to have this talk? _I'm. Not. Cheating. On. You._ Stop acting like an ass."

Gaston immediately back-handed her across the face. "How dare you talk to me like that?"

The slap stung, but Vanessa was used to it, so she recovered quickly. In return she slapped him as well. He snarled at her, but before he could do anything else the bell rang and students started pouring into the hallway. Gaston shoved Vanessa out of his way and stormed off. Vanessa stumbled against the wall. Even though his back was to her, she flipped him off before heading towards her next class.

"Hey, girl; we missed you at lunch," Helga Sinclair greeted when they met up outside of the classroom.

"Yeah. Mr. Ratcliffe held me back after class. Then Gaston got all pissed off at me and we got into an argument about me cheating on him, so I missed lunch altogether."

"_Again_? Come on, Vanessa, you've got to know that he's insecure about this because he's cheating on _you_."

Vanessa glanced around the hallway, hoping no one was listening to their conversation. She really didn't want rumors to start about this. "I know he is."

"Then why not just do what he's accusing you of? Cheat. He's doing it, you may as well enjoy your senior year, too," Helga said.

"I'm not that kind of girl."

Helga rolled her eyes. "Then break up with him. Why do you put up with him?"

"I don't know." That was a lie. When her dad hit her, she couldn't fight back. But, when Gaston hit her, she could. It was what her best friend, Eris, called projecting or paying it forward or something. Vanessa couldn't remember the exact term. Vanessa couldn't take her anger out on her dad, so she provoked Gaston to hit her, so she could hit him back and take her anger out on him, pretending he was her dad.

"Well, I think he's a waste of your time."

Helga _would_ think that; she didn't know anything about the abuse from Gaston and her dad. Only Eris and Adam knew. Not even Gaston knew she was just using him as a punching bag.


End file.
